Japan is considering reducing the incentives for developers of solar power projects by as much as 16 percent to reflect lower operating and maintenance costs.

On 16 October 2019, the FCA published their feedback statement FS19/6 on Climate Change and Green Finance[1]. This feedback statement summarises the responses from stakeholders to the Discussion Paper (DP18/8) on Climate Change and Green Finance[2] ...

Central Asia is improving food safety measures to share with the world some of the more than 8000 plant species, as well as livestock, from the region.

Music has the ability to uplift, refresh, and redefine our lives. As Elton John once said, “Music has healing power,” so it’s no surprise that concert ticket sales in North America amounted to $8 billion in 2017. Not only does attending a musical ...

Aug 18 - Lauren Bush Lauren discusses the latest findings on hunger in the U.S. from a survey conducted by an organization she represents. The granddaughter of President George H.W. Bush and niece of President George W. Bush also discusses her famous family.

Title: Pacifiers Don't Discourage Breast-Feeding, Study Says
Category: Health News
Created: 4/30/2012 10:05:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2012 12:00:00 AM

Title: Low-Income Mothers May Overfeed Their Infants
Category: Health News
Created: 4/28/2012 10:05:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/30/2012 12:00:00 AM

Title: Breast-Feeding May Lower Breast Cancer Recurrence, Death: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 4/28/2015 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/29/2015 12:00:00 AM

Title: Breastfeeding May Help Guard Against Diabetes
Category: Health News
Created: 5/5/2020 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 5/6/2020 12:00:00 AM

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ABSTRACT

Two-component signaling systems (TCSs) function to detect environmental cues and transduce this information into a change in transcription. In its simplest form, TCS-dependent regulation of transcription entails phosphoryl-transfer from a sensory histidine kinase to its cognate DNA-binding receiver protein. However, in certain cases, auxiliary proteins may modulate TCSs in response to secondary environmental cues. Caulobacter crescentus FixT is one such auxiliary regulator. FixT is composed of a single receiver domain and functions as a feedback inhibitor of the FixL-FixJ (FixLJ) TCS, which regulates the transcription of genes involved in adaptation to microaerobiosis. We sought to define the impact of fixT on Caulobacter cell physiology and to understand the molecular mechanism by which FixT represses FixLJ signaling. fixT deletion results in excess production of porphyrins and premature entry into stationary phase, demonstrating the importance of feedback inhibition of the FixLJ signaling system. Although FixT is a receiver domain, it does not affect dephosphorylation of the oxygen sensor kinase FixL or phosphoryl-transfer from FixL to its cognate receiver FixJ. Rather, FixT represses FixLJ signaling by inhibiting the FixL autophosphorylation reaction. We have further identified a 4-cysteine motif in Caulobacter FixT that binds an Fe-S cluster and protects the protein from degradation by the Lon protease. Our data support a model in which the oxidation of this Fe-S cluster promotes the degradation of FixT in vivo. This proteolytic mechanism facilitates clearance of the FixT feedback inhibitor from the cell under normoxia and resets the FixLJ system for a future microaerobic signaling event.

IMPORTANCE Two-component signal transduction systems (TCSs) are broadly conserved in the bacterial kingdom and generally contain two molecular components, a sensor histidine kinase and a receiver protein. Sensor histidine kinases alter their phosphorylation state in direct response to a physical or chemical cue, whereas receiver proteins "receive" the phosphoryl group from the kinase to regulate a change in cell physiology. We have discovered that a single-domain receiver protein, FixT, binds an Fe-S cluster and controls Caulobacter heme homeostasis though its function as a negative-feedback regulator of the oxygen sensor kinase FixL. We provide evidence that the Fe-S cluster protects FixT from Lon-dependent proteolysis in the cell and endows FixT with the ability to function as a second, autonomous oxygen/redox sensor in the FixL-FixJ signaling pathway. This study introduces a novel mechanism of regulated TCS feedback control by an Fe-S-binding receiver domain.

BACKGROUND:

Several studies have investigated the association of breastfeeding status with offspring mortality in Africa, but most studies were from one center only or had limited statistical power to draw robust conclusions.

Krishnamoorthy Krishnan, Asif Shahriar Nafi, Roi Gurka, and Roi Holzman

Fish larvae are the smallest self-sustaining vertebrates. As such, they face multiple challenges that stem from their minute size, and from the hydrodynamic regime in which they dwell. This regime, of intermediate Reynolds numbers, was shown to affect the swimming of larval fish and impede their ability to capture prey. Prey capture is impeded because smaller larvae produce weaker suction flows, exerting weaker forces on the prey. Previous observations on feeding larvae also showed prey exiting the mouth after initially entering it (hereafter "in-and-out"), although the mechanism causing such failures had been unclear. In this study, we used numerical simulations to investigate the hydrodynamic mechanisms responsible for the failure to feed caused by this in-and-out prey movement. Detailed kinematics of the expanding mouth during prey capture by larval Sparus aurata were used to parameterize age-specific numerical models of the flows inside the mouth. These models revealed that for small larvae which expand their mouth slowly, fluid entering the mouth cavity is expelled through the mouth before it is closed, resulting in flow reversal at the orifice. This relative efflux of water through the mouth was >8% of the influx through the mouth for younger ages. However similar effluxes were found when we simulated slow strikes by larger fish. The simulations can explain the observations of larval fish failing to fish due to the in-and-out movement of the prey. These results further highlight the importance of transporting the prey from the gape deeper into the mouth cavity in determining suction-feeding success.

David E. Cade, J. Jacob Levenson, Robert Cooper, Rafael de la Parra, D. Harry Webb, and Alistair D. M. Dove

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus Smith 1828) – the largest extant fish species – reside in tropical environments, making them an exception to the general rule that animal size increases with latitude. How this largest fish thrives in tropical environments that promote high metabolism but support less robust zooplankton communities has not been sufficiently explained. We used open-source inertial measurement units (IMU) to log 397 hours of whale shark behavior in Yucatan, Mexico, at a site of both active feeding and intense wildlife tourism. Here we show that the strategies employed by whale sharks to compensate for the increased drag of an open mouth are similar to ram-feeders five orders of magnitude smaller and one order of magnitude larger. Presumed feeding constituted 20% of the total time budget of four sharks, with individual feeding bouts lasting up to 11 consecutive hrs. Compared to normal, sub-surface swimming, three sharks increased their stroke rate and amplitude while surface feeding, while one shark that fed at depth did not demonstrate a greatly increased energetic cost. Additionally, based on time-depth budgets, we estimate that aerial surveys of shark populations should consider including a correction factor of 3 to account for the proportion of daylight hours that sharks are not visible at the surface. With foraging bouts generally lasting several hours, interruptions to foraging during critical feeding periods may represent substantial energetic costs to these endangered species, and this study presents baseline data from which management decisions affecting tourist interactions with whale sharks may be made.

Peripheral somatosensory input is modulated in the dorsal spinal cord by a network of excitatory and inhibitory interneurons. PTF1A is a transcription factor essential in dorsal neural tube progenitors for specification of these inhibitory neurons. Thus, mechanisms regulating Ptf1a expression are key for generating neuronal circuits underlying somatosensory behaviors. Mutations targeted to distinct cis-regulatory elements for Ptf1a in mice, tested the in vivo contribution of each element individually and in combination. Mutations in an autoregulatory enhancer resulted in reduced levels of PTF1A, and reduced numbers of specific dorsal spinal cord inhibitory neurons, particularly those expressing Pdyn and Gal. Although these mutants survive postnatally, at ~3–5 wk they elicit a severe scratching phenotype. Behaviorally, the mutants have increased sensitivity to itch, but acute sensitivity to other sensory stimuli such as mechanical or thermal pain is unaffected. We demonstrate a requirement for positive transcriptional autoregulatory feedback to attain the level of the neuronal specification factor PTF1A necessary for generating correctly balanced neuronal circuits.

In this very special episode of the RPGCast, there’s a Christmas miracle! That’s right, we come up with a useful idea for the Wii U...

From realism in Final Fantasy games to the sordid history of Pokémon patches, we get all sorts of feedback this week. And then we play...

Some people answer some questions. Chris tries to give us a Just Cause for why he attached that cow to that helicopter. Alice gets Fruity...

The sixth installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

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Meghan says spirit of Grenfell lives on in video call to women she helped at kitchen You can donate at virginmoneygiving.com/fund/FoodforLondonNOW

Twitter is down for a large number of users leaving them unable to load posts.

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The Bishop of London tells April Roach there has never been a greater need for people to come together to help feed hungry Londoners You can donate here virginmoneygiving.com/fund/FoodforLondonNOW

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Volunteers spent the day on a farm to harvest vegetables that would have otherwise gone to waste so the produce could be turned into meals for our Food for London Now appeal.

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Heartfelt appeal on behalf of families and vulnerable during coronavirus crisis You can donate here virginmoneygiving.com/fund/FoodforLondonNOW

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But crisis gets worse You can donate at virginmoneygiving.com/fund/FoodforLondonNOW

Londoners who lived through World War II have hailed the "heroes" behind the emergency food operation helping people in the capital get through the current crisis.

British YouTube star KSI joined the Evening Standard's campaign to feed London during the coronavirus crisis, hailing it as "amazing".

One gurdwara in Kent is delivering hundreds of meals daily to hospitals, care homes and vulnerable

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They start at 4am, chopping vegetables, mixing spices, soaking legumes, kneading chapati dough. Scores of volunteers are split into five teams working in shifts: cooking, packing, delivering, cleaning and answering the phones.

By the end of the day, at least 850 meals have been delivered to staff at five nearby hospitals, care homes and vulnerable individuals. Some days, the number hits 1,000.

Log on to lockdown lifelines for parents

Manchester United have announced plans to deliver 60,000 meals to NHS staff.

Jobless international hospitality workers deemed ineligible for the Federal Government's JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs are "heartbroken" at their treatment and turning to restaurants providing free meals during the coronavirus pandemic.

Some 70,000 animals across Indonesia, including members of critically endangered species, are at risk of starvation as zoos struggle financially due to social distancing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Experts react to role of distributors, legislation in opioid crisis

Experts discuss recent cancellation of first-in-class drug

The United States filed a False Claims Act suit against R&J Feed Co., Jerry Goodwin, Richard Carter and Carter Livestock Inc. in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo.

A California woman pleaded guilty to illegally feeding killer whales in the wild this Tuesday in federal court in San Jose, Calif.